Burial or Cremation

Often the deceased has made their wishes known, but if not then it is up to the family to choose. Whatever your choice, James R Hill Funeral Directors will be able to take care of the arrangements for you.

In New Zealand, there are four options available: burial, cremation, burial at sea or donating a body to medical science.

Burial

In the past, this was the most common choice and is still favoured by many. It provides a family with a focal point, a grave to go to where they remember their loved one. Burial involves buying a burial plot, paying an interment fee, which covers the cost of digging the grave and maintaining it, and usually buying a memorial or headstone. In almost all cases, the places people can be buried are limited by law to official cemeteries or traditional burial grounds.

Cremation

Cremation provides greater flexibility when choosing a final resting place because there is no restriction to specific places of burial. Ashes can be buried in a cemetery or special memorial area, or they can be scattered somewhere the family or deceased thought appropriate, such as in a garden, at sea, or in a favourite place. Some people split the ashes between different places. A memorial or plaque is often chosen to provide the focal point for the family.

The process of cremation involves placing the body within the casket into a cremator – a large metal box with room for only one casket. The cremation process takes approximately two to four hours. The ashes are removed from the cremator and placed in a pine container, about 26cm long and 15cm deep. You can have peace of mind that we will collect the cremated ashes returning them to our care. They are then available for families to collect, usually within 48 hours and James R Hill Funeral Directors have a range of attractive urns available for you to choose from.

Burial at Sea

This requires a special casket, which we can provide. There are specially designated areas off the New Zealand coastline for burial at sea which we can show you and then help with the arrangements.

If there is interest in the option of organ donation or leaving the body to medical science, arrangements need to be made prior to death, and our staff can provide information about both these options.

For more information or advice please click here or phone James R Hill.